Former Top Gear presenter James May has said a Channel 5 series he is fronting dispelling “great myths” about three famous explorers is important amid a rise in “misinformation”.
James May’s Great Explorers will see the presenter, 62, explore the stories of Christopher Columbus, known for stumbling across the Americas, Sir Walter Raleigh, a sailor and courtier knighted by Queen Elizabeth I, and Captain James Cook, one of the greatest navigators in history.
May embarked on his own global adventures while presenting BBC motoring show Top Gear, alongside Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson.
Asked if there are similarities between the TV trio and the three explorers, he said: “To be honest, no. I think that would be bigging ourselves up far too much.
“The risks that people took setting off, especially in the 15th and 16th Century, not knowing really what they were going to find, being completely out of communication within a few hours of leaving. It was so risky.
“We do a bit in episode one about Columbus going off to pray the night before they set off on the first voyage.
“Obviously, life was a lot harder then so the things that the sailors were leaving behind were not centrally heated homes and nice pubs and so on.
“But even so the chances of surviving a sea voyage were not that great and the conditions were awful even by the standards of the time.
“You had to be either very brave, in the case of the leaders like Columbus, possibly quite stupid in a few cases or desperate, hence the proliferation of semi-pardoned criminals in the crews.”
Reflecting on how he hopes the series is received, he said: “I hope they (viewers) find it a good watch and that it makes them think again about some of these great myths that we have surrounding these people and perhaps learn to question other things as well.
“Because the worst thing that can happen to humanity is that we stop asking questions.
“Given everything that is going on now in British and global politics, the wars that are going on and the misinformation that is being put around and everybody having an opinion and a voice it is more important than ever that we all keep asking the questions.”
James May’s Great Explorers will launch on Channel 5 on February 13 at 9pm.
